


[V2] Camp of Individual Amazingness

by SkinnyBoi0321



Series: CoIA Series [2]
Category: Real Person Fiction
Genre: AU as in No Pandemic, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, M/M, Male Friendship, More Characters Mentioned Later, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Personal Growth, Please stay safe, Self-Discovery, Strong Language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:41:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28497753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkinnyBoi0321/pseuds/SkinnyBoi0321
Summary: Newly-high-school-grad Inigo enters the Camp of Individual Amazingness, having an idea of what type of life he wants to live as well as the part of life he'd like to leave behind. Throughout this summer, his ideas of connection and his personal goals will be influenced by the opportunities and people he encounters here. Hope you're ready for the journey.OrPJO's Camp Half-Blood (YAs with super-powers/talents) combined with celebrities put into this alternative universe without their celebrity statuses.P.S. This is the reworked version. The overall plot should be the same as the old version, but this one has major & minor edits to flow, character/relationship development, etc. Hope you enjoy!
Series: CoIA Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2087460
Kudos: 1





	1. Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! For those coming back to read my stuff, thank you and hello again. For those new to this series, welcome. For those who are coming back from Version One and/or care about reading this note, you'll notice throughout the work that some things are the same (quotes, characters, etc.) and other things are different (length of chapters, some quotes and interactions, etc.). I chose to make a version 2 because I knew that I could do better now that I have something established to build off of (making my main character less of a Gary Stu, pacing of the work, etc.). If you want to read Version One to get the overall plot I'm going for, go ahead; otherwise, I hope you bear with me and that you enjoy!

Day 0: June 14, 2020.

“Are you excited?!” Mom yells out in the car, a group of people walking beside us able to listen even though all of the windows are closed.

“Mom, you are so embarrassing,” I start squeezing at my elbows, looking to the outside with pleading eyes as a signal to all the people looking at us to look away. 

“Why aren’t you excited? You’re about to be dropped off to the Camp of Individual Amazingness. The name itself sells that it will be a great time.”

“I am excited, Mom, really. Kinda not sold with the lengthy name, though.”

“The pamphlet you gave me said it’s going to help you find your individual strengths and weaknesses, develop them so you can narrow down on your major & career, and even allow some networking opportunities.”

“I already know I want to get into Psychology as my major, so that’s a start.”

“I understand,  _ anak _ ; but you can always change your mind after some experience. You know people can change their mind, speaking from … experience.”

“Ma, don’t do that to yourself. You did the right thing, leaving him.”

“Thank you,  _ mahal _ . And I now see how hard things have been for you with handling both school and the house ever since then; but you’ve just graduated high school and you deserve to explore what you want for your future.”

“Wow. Who are you and what happened to my mom who kept nagging me my whole senior year to get into any Nursing program?”

Before she can answer, she parks the car and turns her full attention towards me: “Inigo, despite the signs, I kept choosing your father. I was stubborn, and finally seeing what he was doing to this family made me realize that I was so blind to everything. Not to mention that you’re an adult now, so I cannot keep telling you to do something if you don’t want to as well as if I want to change myself. You’ve been through so much this past year; you deserve something for yourself. Do you understand me?”

I sigh, “I do, Mom. And thanks for letting me do this.”

She reaches for my hands to grab, “Do you have your waiver?”

“Sent it online two days ago. It required paperless.”

“Toothbrush?”

“And toothpaste, floss, three containers of hand soap, and all the shower toiletries.”

“And your --”

“Mom, I made a list and checked off everything last night. I have everything.”

“Even your Chinese ring daggers?”

I chuckle as I’m pulling on the passenger door hinge, “Hidden safely away, just in case.”

“Good,” she smiles before her eyes’ irises glow a brilliant orange color and winks; I reciprocate the motion, glowing orange eyes of my own.

We exit from the car on our own sides, me walking to open the trunk while Mom takes a few seconds to stretch her body after the long drive. She walks around to the back of the car to find me already handling all of my stuff, no [supernatural] assistance needed.

She smiles fondly, “You were always good at multitasking.”

“Even without the tails.”

“Do you need me to do anything else? Walk you to your cabin?”

“Nope, I got it, Mom.”

“Okay, my little  _ soro _ . I love you; and stay safe this summer, okay?”

“Will do. I love you, too.” I try to lean towards her so she can kiss my cheek without tipping over too far and falling, and I somehow manage. I start to walk away, only looking back at Mom after a few steps to see her still standing there and waving.

***

“Cabin J. Here we go.” The door luckily was already open, so I didn’t have to struggle more than I already was with my backpack, duffel bag, and sleeping stuff going up the wooden stairs. 

I am only past the porch and door-jamb when I’m attacked by a hug while also hearing, “Finally! Our last cabin-mate has arrived. Welcome!”

“Okay,” I exclaim under my breath as I instinctively drop my duffel & sleeping stuff to hug this random guy back. I instinctively squeeze my face tightly, thus eyes naturally closing; and the muscles in my arms start tightening as well to the point where I can’t move them to hug this guy back. Once my eyes finally creek open, I notice the guy to be a few inches taller than me; so I see his left shoulder underneath my chin and his black hair slick real good with gel. Meanwhile, I also hear some other guys chuckling or scrambling around the large cabin space. I try to start an actual conversation, cheeks still squeezed, “Um, hi. I’m Inigo. Who is hugging me right now?”

A blond that was leaning against his bed frame is now walking towards us, “That is Gavin.” The blond puts his left hand on Gavin’s right shoulder and pulls him back a bit, just to help Gavin realize to let go. “He’s done that to everyone, every year; you’ll get used to it. I’m Ross, Ross Lynch.”

“Nice to meet you,” showing a small smile while trying my best to hide & relax my arms away from the eyes around me.

Another voice chimes, walking out of the bathroom, “Ayyy, new blood!”

Plus another guy beside that voice, “And another mixed baby, finally. It’s not just me, Big Ross, and Jordan.” These two guys come around Ross & Gavin in order to stand on either side of me & lug their arms on my shoulders. “I’m Ryan and that’s Leo.”

Keeping my breath as steady as I can, I raise my eyebrow, “Big Ross?”

Gavin answers, pointing at the Ross in the room, “This isn’t Big Ross, if that’s what you’re thinking. Our three official cabin leaders are out right now, helping with set up and guiding lost souls; Big Ross or Ross Butler is one of them, although you can just call him Ross too.”

“Okay, cool. ‘Big Ross’ seems like a weird nickname to have.”

Leo smirks while tugging at my neck, “What makes you think it would be weird?”

Ryan laughs, “Hey, man; get your mind out of the gutter! It’s probably not that big anyways.” 

Ross and I fake-gag at this, and I restart, “First of all, ew. Second of all,” now turning my attention to Ross, “are these two adoptive brothers or something?”

Ross chuckles, “No. Leo and Ryan are childhood friends. Also, the Leaderboards keep switching them back and forth for Best Hand-to-Hand Combatant each year.”

Leo: “Ryan is a worthy competitor, and an even better tag-team partner.”

Ryan: “Ya damn right,” both then presenting their free hands for a quick fist bump. “I can’t wait to see what the newbies got.”

Before I can say anything, Gavin moves out of the way to present another newbie already set up on his bed, reading a book and listening to music on his headphones. My gaze stays on this new person, but my feet also stay rooted in my place. Probably catching this, I feel a slight pressure on my back to urge me forward; I look back as I move forward to see Leo and Ryan doing the innocent push. Eventually, I walk over to this boy and show a wave with my hand, “Hi, I’m Inigo. What’s your name?”

The boy is shaken a bit when he sees the movement and practically jumps out of his bed, the opposite side of me, “Oh, my bad! I’m Shawn.” He raises his right arm up to reciprocate my wave; while we’re doing that, I look into his eyes to notice a glimmer of gold fading into his brown irises.

I look down towards his bed and spot the cover of the fallen book. “‘Gmorning, Gnight! Little pep talks for me & you’ by Lin-Manuel Miranda?”

Shawn looks down at the book and smiles, “Yeah. I know it’s not morning or night right now, but it helps me with, um …”

I finish, “Control?”

Everyone in the room looks in our direction while Shawn stammers before continuing, “Yeah. You know about it?”

“I don’t know about the book, but I’d like to think I know something about control.” I then flash in my eyes an orange coloration, and I feel the energy shift between us once Shawn drops his hand and hides it behind him.

“You’re an Animal hybrid too?”

“I’m a kitsune. An inheritance passed down from generations of females on my mom’s side, but I’m an only child & male yet the inheritance lives on since my mom’s kitsune’s offspring’s spirit lives within me.”

“A kitsune?” 

Gavin interrupts, “It’s a fox spirit found in many Asian mythologies, especially Japanese, Chinese, and Indian cultures.” As the cabin members and I turn to show confused faces to him, he resumes, “What? It was in my roll of Fun Facts last week.”

Ryan shouts from across the room, “Gotta represent!”

I chuckle and turn back to Shawn, and my suspicions about our energy shit are confirmed since he won’t take his eyes off me yet his posture & eye contact seem cautious. I try to call it out nicely, but Ross comes in:

“You with your random Fun Facts.” He turns his gaze to my eyes now, “Now, to get the bedding situation out of the way: unfortunately, Newbies have the beds nearest to the bathroom. Shawn’s is set up next to the wall, so he’s fine; your’s and Tom’s beds are right across the door, so sorry about that. Noah says it’s ‘mercy’ since most of the food selections here have dairy or are just overall not the best for the stomach to hold in; don’t worry, the food still tastes amazing and we have a great range. And leaders get the beds closest to the main door for emergency purposes or something like that. Anyways, here you go,” handing me my fallen items.

I receive them and walk over to the only available bed near the bathroom since the other one already has bags & even bed-sheets set up. I set my bags down and turn back to the group, about to open my mouth to speak, when a healthily-pale guy absentmindedly walks out of the bathroom and stops right in front of my face. We almost collide, a tube of toothpaste in one hand and a toothbrush in the other; both of us wide-eyed. Next thing I know, I hear a small “Hi” coming softly from his mouth; a British accent all over it.

I say, “Tom, I’m guessing?”

“Yeah. You are?”

“Inigo” I snake my right arm between our bodies and show my hand for a wave.

He reciprocates the action before continuing “Tom. But you already know that. Sorry.”

Silence falls upon the room, maybe save for a few silent laughs somewhere, until three more guys burst through the open door with high energy.

“What’s good, Cabin J?!” the tallest of them yells out through the cabin. He also seems mixed, so I’m guessing that must be Ross Butler.

The one to his left looks towards the back of the cabin, at me and Tom, and beams this huge smile, “Hey! Looks like everyone is here, newbies included.”

The three of them walk over to us two as Shawn gets out from his corner. The shortest of the three, also a ‘mixed baby’, squints his eyes in concern at Tom and me, “Is everything okay over here?”

Neither Tom nor I notice that we’re still in each other’s faces until now, so Tom shuffles backwards and we clear our throats as we turn our bodies towards the leaders. I utter, “Uh, yeah. Just introducing ourselves.” I side-eye to my right, noticing Tom’s eyes have averted to his feet and Shawn’s eyes are locked onto me.

“Well, that’s good. In that case: hi, I’m Jordan.”

Ross: “Hey, guys. I’m Ross. Butler. The other and very helpful Ross is Ross Lynch. We can figure out distinctions later if you want.”

Finally, the guy on Ross’s left: “I’m Noah. And you guys are?”

We introduce ourselves individually, followed by me waving to the leaders, Shawn shaking their hands, and Tom bro-hugging them with obviously nervous expressions on our faces.

Noah claps his hands once and turns towards the rest of my cabin-mates, “Alrighty, Cabin J! Since everyone is here, we should let you guys know that the Orientation bonfire followed by dinner will be starting soon.”

Jordan jumps in, “That means that y’all have time to kill. So, situate your beds and get to know each other. We’re gonna be together everyday for the next two months or so, and I don’t want anyone killing each other.”

Tom and I laugh nervously, but Ross B. keeps a straight face, “No, we’re serious. There have been instances that we don’t need to talk about.” He sucks in a breath while showing his teeth while Tom & I gulp before he continues, “Anyways, just wanted to check up on you guys before we get back to helping. You guys settle down, maybe even get out there and explore; just don’t wander too far and make sure you all find each other before 6 o’clock. Okay?” 

Everyone obliges in their own ways, and the Cabin J leaders proceed to leave again.

The rest of us spread out to do our own thing within the cabin, but Leo walks up to me and says, “Hey. Since I’m the bed next to you, do you need help unpacking or anything?”

I answer, “Sure. Not with unpacking, but spreading the bedsheets if that’s okay.” Leo nods, then we get to quick work. During that, my attention shifts towards Shawn staring at me just above his book and then Tom also stealing quick glances from his bed.

After a few minutes, Ross, Gavin, Leo, and Ryan are heading for the exit. Three of them pass through the door-jamb, but Ross L. stops them from moving forward and turns around, “Alright, come on, Newbies. We’ll give you a tour.”

Tom jumps from his bed, “Great!”

Shawn and I get up at the same time, and he silently motions for me to walk first. I nod with a small smile, and he follows me without a word.


	2. Orientation

Day 0: June 14, 2020. Around 6 PM.

Ross L. & Gavin are pulling Shawn, Tom, & me by our arms down the slight hill as Leo & Ryan are running not too far behind us. What feels like so many steps later, we finally stumble upon the open-air Mess Hall with wood-log bench-tables and larger tables already set up with serving tableware that are bare of food for now. So many moving parts are happening right now, we almost miss Ross B. standing from a table and waving at us.

As we sit down, Jordan looks through our group, “Everyone here?”

Ross L. and Gavin give him thumbs-up, and Noah follows up while entering with a plate full of food, “Cool. That would have been bad on our end if anyone was lost.”

Tom asks, “Oh, are we all allowed to eat now?”

Jordan answers, “Nope, just Noah.”

Noah adds, mouth full of food already, “I’ve been doing a lot today, so I need my ample sustenance.”

My head falls to the side, eyes squinting, “But haven’t you three been together all day? Why aren’t Jordan and Ross eating?” As if on cue, Ryan grabs my attention by pointing towards the stage, where a Noah is busy setting up a singular mic stand; then, Leo turns me to look at another table far from us, where another Noah is holding a clipboard & guiding lost campers throughout the hall; finally, I turn back to see the Noah diving into his food. “Cloning? Wait, no. Duplication? Since what’s felt in one body translates to the others, and I’m guessing you have each other’s memories so you can all remember what each one has done & multitask more effectively?”

Noah and Jordan’s eyes silently widen towards me, but Ross B. simply bows his head, “Very good, Inigo. You catch on quick.”

“Then, can I ask what your guys’ powers are?”

Ross B. turns to Jordan, “What do you say? Should we wait for a proper demonstration for them tomorrow or just tell them?”

Jordan says, “Might as well tell them. Get a sense of what they’re gonna deal with.”

“Well, then: I’m a WereTiger. Really pushing for that Malaysian-Chinese representation in my family, I guess.” I smile towards him, even though he doesn’t notice with his eyes closed from laughing to himself.

“As for me, I can do Sound Manipulation.”

Noah interjects, leaning towards where I’m sitting, “He’s got a killer voice. Not literally.”

I turn my body around and open my mouth, when Ross Lynch instantly says, “Telepathy and Telekinesis.” I’m about to ask a stupid question, but instead I just chuckle.

Gavin says, “Emotional Manipulation.”

I ask, “Isn’t that just a subtype of Empathy?”

“In a way, I guess. But I don’t sense or absorb other people’s emotions; I just adjust them.”

Tom interjects, “Isn’t that a bit diabolical? I mean, you can start wars just by making one important person really pissed off.”

Gavin thins his lips in intrigue, which Ross L. notices and sighs, “Don’t tempt him.” We just laugh it off.

Leo stays cool, “You’ll just have to wait and see tomorrow,” to which Ryan nods in agreement and everyone else sighs or laughs.

Jordan comes back in, “What about you, Newbies?”

Shawn slouches a bit into himself and says, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Noah tries to pry, “Hey, man. No one is going to shame you or anyth --” but he’s interrupted by Ross B.’s hand on his shoulder followed by a head-shake. Noah lets it go, some type of silent understanding between them occurring.

Tom tries to break up the tension, “I just have super-strength; it’s not as flashy as most. But it really helps with the parkour, though.”

Jordan interjects, “Hey, that’s awesome! I bet you can move better than Ross over here,” to which his fellow leader playfully elbows his arm while everyone else laughs. He then reverts his attention back to the group, “What about you, Inigo?”

I answer, “Well, I’m a kitsune. More accurately, the child of my mom’s kitsune spirit is inside me. The whole ordeal has been through my mom’s family line for generations.”

“But I thought all kitsunes were female.”

“Yeah, well, I’m an only child and I guess the spirits were desperate to keep it within the family. So, I’m the only known male to be a kitsune in a while for my family.”

Ross B. stands from his seat, “That’s awesome, man! Gotta represent.” before leaning over the table for a high-five which I do accept.

Ryan says, “Dude, I said that earlier!” to which he leans over for a high-five that Ross B. accepts.

Noah finally finishes his plate of food before saying, “Well, men, this is all great to hear. And we’ll definitely show it all off tomorrow when we start group-training.”

***

It’s now 6:30, and it seems like the majority of the camp is settled into the mess hall; it’s electric with all the energy and joy coming off of everyone talking, moving around, and just being there at camp. I observe this silently while trying to listen to my table at the same time, but everything is just overwhelming. So much in fact, I notice how Shawn’s eyes are completely shut and back are slouched as if he’s in pain; I try to stand up from my seat, but a tall figure quickly passes behind me before I can step out from the table. I sit back to see the figure to the end of the table where Noah, Ross B., & Jordan are sitting; he then bends down so he can whisper to my leaders, only to stand back straight and walk quickly towards the stage.

The three of them stand up from the table and follow the figure, just as Jordan announces to the group, “We’ll be back for dinner.”

I follow their walking path with my eyes, then lean towards Ross L., “Is everything okay with them?”

Ross answers, “Oh yeah. They were just some of the MVPs from last year and were asked to help start things off.”

Tom overhears and moves towards our conversation, “MVPs?”

“‘Most Valuable Players’. Like Superlatives in high school, although I’m not sure if you’re familiar with them in England, Tom; sorry, I’m not familiar with secondary education and how they handle this kind of stuff,” he says with a slightly nervous chuckle. 

Gavin jumps in, “Yeah. Butler is an OG with this camp as well as an overall workhorse, and this is his last year so the staff and him want to make this summer count. Noah was deemed ‘Most Ambitious’ last year because he just tried everything, which was easy for him to do with his duplicates; he wasn’t the best at everything, but he still tried everything. As for Jordan, he was last year’s ‘Most Versatile’; he didn’t try everything, but he was high-ranking at what he did.”

Tom and I say a drawn-out, “Oh,” to then notice each other doing it perfectly at the same time, look at each other, then look back towards the stage quickly. What I don’t notice is Tom’s small smile; what he doesn’t notice is my wide eyes and the face not subtly hiding the internal panic I’m having out of embarrassment.

The stage was more interesting anyways, because now Jordan was standing in front of the mic stand and opening his mouth; only, it wasn’t his voice coming out of his mouth, but rather this annoying air-horn sound at such a high volume. Everyone in the Mess Hall was cringing and covering their ears, but Ross & Gavin were unbothered as they covered their ears and Leo & Ryan were laughing their asses off as Jordan sustained his noise into the mic for a few more seconds. He finished only to smile innocently at the crowd before walking backwards to allow Ross B. to the mic.

Ross goes on, “Thank you, Jordan, for that … ‘pleasant’ alarm to get everyone’s attention.” He clears his throat, obviously trying to keep in a laugh, before continuing, “Hello everybody; welcome to the Camp of Individual Amazingness!” Everyone is now cheering, some enthusiastically and others not so much. “Thank you for choosing to spend your summer here at Emerald Bay State Park, learning and growing both as individuals & hopefully as a team. Now, to get into the specifics of our lovely camp, here is one of our head coaches, Coach Evans!

Applause starts going as Ross B. backs away to join his leader-mates while the figure from earlier walks up to the mic. This very well-built man continues the introductions, “Hey, guys! As Ross here said, I’m Coach Chris Evans. You can call me Coach, Evans, Coach Evans, or sir; that’s it.” He chuckles to himself at his last part, but he’s quick to see no one else following his lead. He clears his throat, “Anyways, I will be one of the many staff members here to keep you safe for the next two months or so this summer, so don’t worry too much. Now, I’m well aware that most of you here are between 18 and 30 years old because you need assistance figuring out your life & you’re old enough to sign your own Consent Forms and Waivers. What I also know and can tell you is that the pamphlet provided to your families is true: you will learn, grow, and figure out what you want to do with your lives; what I can tell you that is not on the pamphlet but you probably already know is that this is a camp for super-powered and super-talented young adults, am I right?!” This last part gets the crowd erupting in applause. Coach Evan goes even further once people settle down, “One part that you new people definitely don’t know is this: your progress and attributes will be monitored, and by the end of the summer a select few will be chosen to work for the CIA! I mean, why did you think our acronym for this camp was like that?” Gasps and cheering scatter throughout the hall popped up here and there, but I was sitting in silent shock at this news. If I get that job, Mom wouldn’t have to worry about paying for college and even taking care of me if I need to move.

Coach Evans goes on, “Now, I know that sounds amazing, but given the implications of such a secretive branch, there are a few ground rules that we have to cover before continuing:

  1. No killing anyone. Covering that up is a pain in the ass; and we are trying to build futures here, not end them.
  2. No discussions with your parents or anyone about the possible job opportunity until the end of camp and unless you are actually given the option. Additionally, if we offer you the job, you have the full right and privilege to accept or decline on your own time; declining or not getting the opportunity doesn’t bar you from coming to camp every year.
  3. No posting on social media about your time here, unless you disguise your post as regular camping. We are trying to create the illusion that you are here for what the pamphlet actually tells you; nothing beyond. The strong signal and great Internet reception among other utilities are meant for some of the facilities involved with your training here [which starts tomorrow, by the way!] as well as your comfort.
  4. Do not try to go beyond the Camp perimeters. There is a force-field constantly standing that both camouflages us from people outside and prevents people inside from leaving without permission. 
  5. I know accidents may happen, but please try your best not to destroy any wildlife.
  6. Please be in your cabin by Lights Out unless you are accompanied by a leader.
  7. Finally, just be open-minded. All of you are coming here at different ages, different experiences, all that jazz. I want you to be open enough to learn about everything and everyone before you go out into the real world and judge so quickly.



“Now, with all that being said, I hope you guys enjoy your time at the Camp of Individual Amazingness!” The crowd erupts in cheers and applause one last time before Coach Evans bows out with “And to close out this whole speech, here is Noah!”

Chris backs away from the mic to let Noah take it before Noah shouts into it, “Alright, bitches! Time to eat!” The bench-tables grouped by cabins turn towards the presentation-tables cutting through the middle of the hall, exposing food that has been placed buffet-style while the speech was going on. Noah then proceeds to release the tables in an orderly fashion, starting with Girls Cabin A & Boys Cabin B to end with Girls Cabin I and our Boys Cabin J.


	3. Early Tensions

Night 0: June 14, 2020. 7 PM.

The Mess Hall goes back into utter chaos in the best way: everyone eating, talking, laughing. However, unlike the other groups where there are so many individual conversations going on within; my cabin group are altogether, focusing on one or a couple of main speakers and vibing off of that then having another person speak. We all got to know at least a little piece of each other by the time I was done eating, and we stayed there even as other tables were starting to scatter away from the dining hall.

Still, some talked more than others. Shawn was the one who talked the least, but rather listened, laughed, and devoured multiple plates of food. Whenever I was the one talking, the best I could get out of him was a small smile or a slight laugh.

At one point towards the end of our dinner together, Shawn got up and whispered to Gavin, “Hey, I’m gonna use the bathroom.” Gavin simply nodded and pointed in the right direction for the public bathroom lodges before falling back into the conversations.

Immediately once I notice this, I whisper to Jordan next to me, “I’ll be right back.”

I try to stand from my seat, but Jordan grabs my attention, “Is everything okay?”

I respond as I stand, “Yeah, everything is great. Just a lot of food.” He nods; but as I start to turn, I turn back to say, “Thanks for checking, though.”

Jordan smiles before whispering back in my ear, “Anytime.”

I turn to follow Shawn, who’s going towards a public bathroom building that’s weirdly not very well-lit on the outside. He doesn’t notice me, but I try to keep a pace where I’m silent and not passing in front of him. He turns a sharp corner supposedly for the entrance of the Men’s side; I take the same corner a couple seconds after him, but I suddenly feel thrown with my back against the wall and a hand crunching up my T-shirt collar.

“Why are you following me?” Shawn interrogates.

“You’re a werewolf.”

That definitely caught his attention, because his now golden-glowing eyes are wide in shock. He releases his hold on my shirt and takes a step backwards into the mix of short grass and dirt. “How do you know that?”

“Well, first your physical characteristics: your intimidatingly natural height, the lean yet strong body build, your long sleeved shirt despite the humidity probably to cover excess hair although I’m just guessing that part, what looks like naturally voluminous head of hair, and your golden eyes when you were startled by me earlier as well as right now.”

He snickers while playing with his hair, “You really think it’s voluminous?”

“Now, your behaviors: you come off as closed-off most of the time probably because of a trauma that now causes you not want to hurt anyone, you practically dove into your swimming pool worth of food tonight, and the most blaring of all to me is that you’ve been avoidant of me ever since I mentioned that I was a kitsune this afternoon.”

“‘Swimming pool’s worth’ seems like an overestimation.”

“I just want you to know that I want this camp experience to be enjoyable for both us and everyone else; and that you have nothing to be afraid of when it comes to me because you’re clearly the more intimidating one between us.”

Due to the darkness, I vaguely see his eyes widening again. “Uh, thanks. But, just so you know, I’m not afraid of you. Just threatened.”

“Threatened? What do I have that threatens you?”

“Your control over your animal; I’ve been trying to fight mine every second I’ve had him so that he doesn’t pop out of nowhere. Not to mention your overt honesty and easiness with life.”

“What do those last parts mean?”

“Oh, come on. The fact that you’re confronting me about my behaviors; overt honesty. I’m just glad you weren’t a jerk about it by calling me out in front of everyone else.”

“We’re newbies; we need to make a good impression. Exposing your power if you’re not ready doesn’t solve anything.”

“And the fact that you were the first out of all of us to tell your power and move on as if it’s natural.” He proceeds to look down on his hands before he says something that breaks my heart, “I’m a monster.”

I step towards him, attempting to reach out for his hands with my own but I stop myself. I breathily ask, “Can I?” He looks up to notice my hands approaching his, and he hesitantly nods his head before bringing his gaze down once again. I reach out for his wrists, “Hey, Shawn. Please look at me.” His golden eyes meet my now orange eyes; “This kind of self-talk is not going to help you. I know we just met and dogs & foxes aren’t mythologically the best of matches, but I promise you we’re going to help you. Me, the leaders, the whole cabin. You can learn how not to fight the wolf part, but rather live with it, I know you can; it is a part of you, anyways. It might not be the smoothest process, but I want this summer to go as smoothly as it can for the sake of us and our team; and I can only do that if you trust us, okay?”

Shawn’s face shows how taken aback he is, not in discomfort but in genuine shock at the display of forwardness. Eventually, he responds softly, “Okay, I can try.”

“Good, besides, it’s not like Ross was perfect in figuring out his tiger side all throughout that process.”

“Oh yeah, Ross.”

“He’s bound to have experience. I’d say we’re in capable hands.”

Shawn’s eyes start glimmering down into his usual brown eyes, “How are you able to do this? Talk me down and be able to think that everything will be okay?”

I let my own eyes dull down as I give him a soft, almost sad, smile, “I’ve had to grow faster than most; in more ways than you can think. But we have all summer to talk about it.”

Shawn finally lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding; then, he notices something: “Are you okay?”

“I think so. What do you mean?”

“I can hear your heartbeat. It’s racing.”

“Oh.” I try to play it off with a light tone, “You pinned me against the wall so suddenly. My body takes a while to calm down.”

Suddenly, Shawn swiftly turns his head slightly to his left. There, Ross B. comes jogging with glowing icy-blue eyes and turns his head around the corner to find us.

Ross asks, “Are you guys alright?”

I keep my attention on Shawn, “Are you alright?”

Shawn takes in a deep breath, capping it with a smile and answering, “Yeah, we’re good;” looking at me and then Ross while saying that.

Ross releases a big breath, “Okay, cool.” He then processes that Shawn & I are in a dark area together, with me currently gripping his wrists. Ross’s eyes open as if a light bulb is floating above his head, “Oh, am I interrupting something?”

I suck in a quick breath and I’m about to take my hands away from Shawn’s wrists, but Shawn quickly goes back to grab my wrists. I look up to him in alarm, but calm down as Shawn admits, “Inigo was stopping a transformation.”

Ross carefully approaches us, voice full of concern, “Transformation?”

“Werewolf transformation.”

“Oh, well, good. I’m glad that you two worked it out.”

“Yeah, me too.” He then smiles at me, something I reciprocate. Shawn then slowly lets go of my wrists and turns his full attention to Ross, “But I do need both of you to help me in the future.”

Ross beams this stupidly big grin and wraps his arm around Shawn’s neck before guiding him to walk away from the corner, “Well, you know I gotchu, man! Come on!”

The two of them turn the corner together and I follow them, to then find someone standing against the wall.

Ross brings up a name, “Tom? You good?”

Tom answers, “Yeah, yeah; I’m good. But uh, can I talk to Inigo privately?”

“Sure. We were just heading back. See you guys back at the cabin if you don’t find us back at the table; early Lights Out for a refreshed first day of training.” He then lifts his arm off of Shawn to turn around and puts both hands on my shoulders, “Inigo, great job tonight. You gotta teach me how to do that, by the way; I can do control, but I’m terrible at teaching, honestly. Okay?” capitalizing that last part with a wink with his tiger eyes.

I say, “I’ll do my best.”

Ross turns back around to re-grip Shawn, and I glimpse a quick moment where Shawn looks back over his shoulder to me.

Tom restarts the conversation, “Is this okay? If we talk like this?”

I look around us before responding, “Uh, sure.”

“Why are you looking behind you?”

“Just, uh … making sure no animals are eavesdropping, you know?” said with a small laugh at the end to try to make myself convincing.

“Okay,” I barely notice an eyebrow raise, but I do notice in his tone that he was still confused but decided to move on. “Anyways, I’m sorry about earlier, almost bumping into you like that.” 

“It’s not a problem. Although, I am confused as to why you’re mentioning it now.”

“I just wanted to make sure we were good, I think. Honestly, I’m not sure what I’m doing.”

We both giggle, then I respond, “Thanks for making sure, then. How very polite and British of you.”

“Oh no, that’s a misconception about us British. I’ve met some nice Brits and some mean Brits.” We continue giggling.

“I’ll take your word for it. Haven’t been to England, well, ever.” 

“Well, I guess I have to take you there someday,” Tom says casually, but his eyes widen once realizing what that could entail. 

“You’ve only met me a few hours ago and you’re willing to take me over an ocean?”

Tom tries to recover, “Wait! I didn’t mean it like that. Or at least I think I didn’t, I --”

I reach out with my hands towards his wrists, “Tom, I need to stop you right there.”

The contact brings Tom to silence and I can practically see the whites of his eyes in the darkness of night; he has this breathy tone in him as he’s wreaking of nervousness, “Oh, really?”

I take a pause before saying, “Tom, you seem like a great person. Your accent is everything, you’re good-looking, and you seem like a nice & humble guy. But we just met today and barely know each other; if you really want some type of relationship with me, we should start by building a friendship first. Besides, I’m personally not in the right mindset to be looking for anything beyond that here, especially with the situation I’ve recently been through. Is that okay?” Nothing is coming out of his mouth; his mouth is open, but no coherent words are coming out. “Tom, are you okay?”

Tom closes his eyes tight and shakes his head as if to clear, before re-opening his eyes and finally answering, “Wow, you’re really good at this.”

I chuckle more out of confusion than amusement, “At what?”

“At talking people down. I was walking close to Ross to help find you guys, and I heard some parts about helping Shawn with his power.”

“Oh, you were there for that?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you, Tom, really.”

Tom’s shoulders relax from the tension, so I release my grip on his wrists. “Okay, I understand what you mean.” His head droops and his eyes close as he speaks more so to himself than me, “I can’t believe I just did that.”

I bend down a bit in order to get a look at some of his face, “Hey, I’d still like for us to start out as friends; and who knows where that will go. Okay?” 

He opens his eyes, nods a small nod, and intakes a deep breath only to reflexively scrunch his face. “Ugh, these restrooms smell disgusting, don’t you think?”

I laugh, “Yeah. I don’t know why you took that deep of a breath or why you decided for us to talk here of all places.”

“Hey, it was private and you were already here.” We both laugh for a few seconds before Tom silently excuses himself back to the table.

I quietly laugh to myself a bit and take a small exhale out before I make my way back to the table … only to be caught off guard by someone slow-clapping by the entrance to the Men’s bathroom.

I drop into a fighting stance, to which the clapper flings his arms up in defeat before going, “Hold up! I mean no harm,” the last part having a slight laugh to it.

I lose the guard as I realize, “Noah! Geez, you scared me.” Wait. “Uh, I didn’t see you leave the table when I was following Shawn. How did you get past us talking -- unless …”

My realization catches onto Noah as he says, “Duplicate. Man, you are way too smart for a newbie.”

My stomach and cheeks warm at that. “Thank you.”

“I mean, the way you knew how Shawn was a werewolf, the way you told off Tom in the nicest yet honest way, and not to mention the two times you broke down my powers like that;” each word was paired with an inch closer to me. 

“Are you just trying to hype me up right now?”

His walking now ends right in front of me, us in the same position as when Shawn almost had me pinned to the wall. He whispers, almost with a hiss, “Is that such a bad thing?”

I try to keep my voice as steady as possible as I answer, “Well, I unfortunately have to tell you what I told Tom. I’m not looking for any personal relationship here beyond friends; at least right now. I need time to figure myself out first.”

Noah groans, propping his right hand onto the wall but his arm being fully extended so there is some room between us, “Ugh, and you know your worth too. That’s so sexy.”

As he pushes off the wall into a normal standing position, I redirect the conversation once we begin walking back to the table, “How long have you been in the bathroom?”

“Since after Coach Evan’s speech.”

“Damn, no wonder you ate a lot tonight. OG Noah must have planted you there so you two can multitask; one eats and the other empties so the one eats more. How is that even physiologically possible? Where does the waste in the main body go once the duplicate does the business? And how did you even entertain yourself in there?” No response immediately comes, so I turn back to find Noah had stopped a few steps behind me. I walk back to him, “Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?”

Noah cracks his jaw without his hands as if he had tension held up in there; he then answers, “You’re the only person besides Noah that has ever called me anything besides ‘the real Noah’.”

“Well, you are real, aren’t you?”

A smile creeps up on Noah’s face. “I think so.”

“Well, you have form and personality; so I think you’re real.” I turn and we both resume walking as I continue the conversation, “So, how do you dissipate?”

“Oh, it’s actually funny: Noah has to absorb me by BJ, then I’m magically vacuumed back into him.”

I fake-gag before I scoff, “Oh my gosh! You are so disgusting!” The two of us continue talking and laughing together until we meet up with the rest of the cabin at our Mess Hall table.


End file.
